Checkmate
by Sagakure
Summary: The highest cause of mortality among purebloods is the loss of the will to live. Kaname has always had a strong purpose in life, but if that purpose was stripped from him, could he go on living? Kaname x Yuuki, Zero x Yuuki, KxYxZ. Warning: Angst & blood.
1. Chapter 1 : Checkmate

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight, this is a fanfic written for fun and for love of the series. I'm not making any money with it.

**Warnings: Angst & blood. Also, spoilers for chapters 30 to 35.  
**

This is a **partial AU**, because in this fic, some time has passed since episode 30's scene with Kaname & Zero, and there's no move on Rido's part yet. (Think of it as extending things a bit so that Rido attacks later, after the next vacation instead of this one? lol)

As a result, everybody is still at school including Takuma & co., and things are normal without Rido-in-Shiki's-body stuff as of yet.

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He sat in the water, looking dejectedly at the ripples running on the surface each time a stray drop rolled off the tip of the gold faucet.

He stared past it all, not really seeing anything, not even noticing that the water had long gone cold and his fingertips were wrinkled from being in it too long. His wet hair clung partially to his face, heavy with water and the tears that had long burned a trail down his cheeks.

A pureblood's tears, something that no one was supposed to ever see, but that he hadn't been able to hold back, and that he had spilled in front of the two the previous evening, when Yuuki told him.

Absentmindedly, he picked up the razor left on the side of the tub and stared at the blade for a moment, certainty replacing the bleak despair in his features.

He had stayed away from Yuuki for all those years so that she would be safe from any harm that came his way, but also so that she would have a choice. He had always yearned to turn her, to give her back her memories and have her come to his side at last, but he managed to control himself all these years, precisely because he wanted her to have the choice.

Ironically, the possibility that she may not choose him had never even crossed his mind.

Maybe it was because there is only so much a mind can take. He may be a pureblood, but he had lost everything he ever had. Even his most precious one, since she had forgotten everything then grown distant with the years.

Trying to accept the idea that she may not eventually return to his side would have been the last blow that would have broken him. It was hard enough to have tried to look fine during those ten years.

Ten years of misery, ten years of day after day of rising with the sunset as if everything was normal, and composing a mask of control for all the others to see. Only she did see through and notice the misery in his eyes, although she never grasped how bad it was.

And now, this.

Much as he wanted to tear the hunter apart, he couldn't avoid facing the truth. It was his miscalculation, his own error. Kiryuu had done nothing but play his own part of the game, perhaps the same way he himself would have done. Living next to her and not wanting to have her would be impossible, at his eyes. He couldn't blame the other for loving her.

The only thing he would never forgive the hunter was the first bite he gave Yuuki. But the point was moot, since forgiving or not, he couldn't harm him anyway. He would never do something to the one Yuuki chose.

It was he who had made the wrong move. Putting the knight next to the queen, so that she would be always safe where the presence of the king would have drawn a much too dangerous attention over her. It seemed straightforward enough. He had no idea the knight had it in him to become a king of his own.

He made a colossal miscalculation, and now, the game was over. But ultimately, this had always all been about her happiness, and her having a choice. She had chosen now.

He would be the graceful loser, and remove himself so that her choice would be truly possible.

As a vampire by his side, she would have been an invincible queen and eternity would have been theirs. As a human, on the long run his presence would only bring danger to her. His peers would hate her for taking away the attentions of a pureblood, and his ennemies would find her through him.

So ultimately, while the game had come to a checkmate for him, it would maybe be better for her that way, even though her life would be ephemeral as the spring rain, gone a mere moment after it begins, and certainly more frightening in that she wouldn't be able to defend herself from the many dangers in this world. But it would be more safe in that she could more easily get farther away from all that made it even more dangerous for her.

And she would have her knight, to protect her. She would be fine. He was repeating the words in his mind, as if to try to convince himself; a part of him was ashamed at how badly he was holding up, and perfectly aware that he was playing tricks on himself to make it sound like it didn't hurt as much. He knew well that the truth was that he couldn't face the pain of living without her.

It wasn't just about removing his presence. There was no life for him in a world where she wouldn't be his. He could only live with the misery of those ten years because he clung with such frantic desperation to the idea that ultimately, she would return to his side. Now that the game was over, he saw his illusions for what they were, a castle of cards falling apart with a sudden gush of wind.

He had a small measure of comfort in the fact that Kiryuu had been the only one to ever drink his blood. As a result, when the pureblood died, the rest of his strenght would transfer to him, making him far more powerful than an ex-human could ever dream of, putting an end to his descent to level E and probably even voiding problems such as the inability to process blood tablets or the thirst.

Even though he wouldn't be there anymore, at least his power would be protecting her through Kiryuu, even if it was a meager solace at the face of the unbearable pain he felt.

Holding the razor in a determined hand, he slashed across his left wrist, then changed hands and repeated the action on the other one. The wounds healed so fast that it was disheartening.

He had ingested a potent poison earlier that night, with the intent of crashing his regenerative system so that the bleeding would be effective enough, but it had clearly not taken effect yet. It was hunter made and designed to stop a vampire's healing, but it was probably meant for normal vampires and thus lacked potency against a pureblood. But he had guessed it would be the case, and had taken an amount several times the quantity specified, so it was ensured to kick in soon enough.

No poison would do his body enough damage by itself, but it would enable him to bleed to death.

He slashed again, a deeper gash now, wishing he had simply gotten a vampire hunter blade instead, so he wouldn't have to keep reopening the wounds constantly as he bled. But Kaname had always had a deep aversion for the weapons of the hunters, made worse by his uncle Rido's attack on his parents, and so he resigned himself.

The others would pick up on the scent of his blood instantly, but he knew no one would dare to enter without his permission, and by the time the scent was strong enough that they might disobey him out of worry, enough time would have passed and it would be too late to stop the effects of the shattering. He would turn to dust, and she wouldn't have to cry over a body, nor to worry anymore about hurting the feelings of one of them when she went for the other. If he played his last move well, he would be gone from her life without her ever knowing he did more than merely disappear. She would be free, to have the life she wanted, next to the one she chose.

The pain from the cuts didn't even register compared to the agony of such an idea, his Yuuki next to someone else. But to him, it was her happiness that had ever mattered, and not a single time in his life had he ever hesitated before subjecting himself to anything to ensure that her happiness would go on.

It would be the end of the Kuran line, at the hands of the most frequent cause of pureblood casualties: the loss of the will to live. But this was the least of his concerns.

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Several hours had passed since the poison had finally kicked in. The cuts all along his forearms had long stopped closing, blood flowing freely into the water and blossoming into a dark red.

Too weary to remain sitting, the pureblood had slid down and was now laying in his bloody bath, his head resting against the back of the tub little ways above the water level. His eyes were lost on speckles of light dancing weakly on the ceiling of his bathroom, imaginary butterflies of light chasing each other in a meaningless dance that conjured happy memories of Yuuki and him dancing in the past.

The night was over, and the day itself might be well advanced already, although he wouldn't be able to tell for sure, as his mind had long stopped registering the passing of time.

At this point it was too far gone to even register the noise of the door breaking in.

It wouldn't be much longer before the end now, but as he started to almost feel at peace and get used to the idea that he would no longer have to go on suffering, unwelcome hands plunged into the bloody water, grabbing onto him, pulling him out of his pool of blood, forcing his numb skin into the cold air as they dragged him out onto the bathroom ground, unheeding of his weakened cries of protest.

"Go away!! Just leave me alone!!" He cried out, but his voice was so weak he could barely recognize it himself.

_When would the wretched hunter stop tormenting him?! On top of robbing him of his very reason to live, Kiryuu had to even stop him from fading away peacefully?!_

"Go away, you took everything I had, don't take away what dignity I still have left!!" He half sobbed the words out, struggling weakly in the hunter's arms, trying to snatch away from his grasp, mortified that he couldn't even fight him back in this state.

But Zero would not leave, would not stop holding onto him while quickly wrapping the mess that the pureblood had done of his arms, hoping to give them enough time to heal before he lost anymore blood.

Zero knew well that was he was doing was more inhumane than anything else. Much as Kaname had told him long ago, their feelings for Yuuki were the same. Were he in the same situation, he would have taken the same route Kaname did. That was precisely what made him come; he knew what the pureblood was about to do.

It was also precisely what made him aware that forcing him to live was an unforgivable torture.

But they both lived for Yuuki. And much as she had chosen him, she would inevitably grieve Kaname's death. And Zero was well willing to commit inhumane acts and have Kaname hate him until the end of times, if it meant that Yuuki wouldn't have to suffer.

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Sagakure, June 10th 2008

My Muses wouldn't leave me alone with this fic, so it became a series of short chapters instead of just this one-shot. I will be posting them as soon as I'm done tweaking them around and editing etc :D Maybe one each day or each few days. It works on its own though, so perhaps the other chapters could be counted as an epilogue or, better yet, a sequel.


	2. Chapter 2 : Castling the King

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight, this is a fanfic written for fun and for love of the series. I'm not making any money with it.

**Warnings: Angst & blood. Also, spoilers for chapters 30 to 35.  
**

This is a **partial AU**, because in this fic, some time has passed since episode 30's scene with Kaname & Zero, and there's no move on Rido's part yet. (Think of it as extending things a bit so that Rido attacks later, after the next vacation instead of this one? lol)

As a result, everybody is still at school including Takuma & co., and things are normal without Rido-in-Shiki's-body stuff as of yet.

I'm using periods between some line spaces because FFnet screws up the formatting of the line breaks.

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Having stood in front of the door leading to Kaname's chambers for several hours now, Ichijou hated himself for his indecision, but he knew better than barge into the pureblood's room uncalled for.

Of all the inhabitants of the Moon Dorms, he was the closest to Kaname, having grown up by his side, and this special position allowed him to take liberties with the pureblood no one else would have dared, such as the informal way he addressed him.

But it didn't change in the least the immense respect Ichijou had for Kaname. He considered it an exceptional privilege that Kaname would allow him such closeness, despite who he was related to, and he wasn't willing to cross the pureblood and lose it. But it wasn't for the reasons another would expect, such as the political power or influence that a close friendship with the pureblood would inevitably bring, however. Ichijou would never betray Kaname's wishes because Kaname was his dearest friend, one he felt so marvelled to have that he sometimes couldn't believe his luck.

But that was also what tied his hands in this situation, and made it impossible for him to open that door, or allow any of the many other vampires currently congregated in front of Kaname's room to do so.

Instead, he stared at it with a rising desperation as if his sight could pierce through the door, his vampire senses attuned to the very maximum, clinging to the hope that Kaname would call for them, even if faintly, anything that gave him the permission to force the door open if needed.

He knew someone else was inside now, they all knew. They even heard what sounded like someone breaking through the bathroom door. But that didn't change anything, especially since the invader was one that he knew Kaname had often allowed to come and go through his window in previous times.

With a bleak, dread filled look on his face, Ichijou stood, his gaze glued to the doorknob for what seemed like an eternity, but when the metal knob turned and the door opened from the inside, he couldn't stop his eyes from widening in surprise.

Zero Kiryuu, covered in what seemed like a sea of Kaname's blood, peeked his head out with an uncertain look in his face, quickly surveying the astounded group of vampires before latching for Ichijou's arm, whispering for him to come inside quickly.

The commotion in the hall was inevitable, and as the two vampires closed the door behind themselves, the noise was such that they thought for a moment that they would have to secure the entry. Although no barrier they could have set would have held against such a determined group should they have tried to force it open.

Surprisingly, it was Aidou who took over Ichijou's appeasing role, rushing to stand firmly with his back to the door, raising his voice and his hands to quiet his fellows. He had to muster all of his aura and freeze the entire ground of the corridor before he had their full attention. Every single one of them had smelled Kaname's blood on the hunter, and even though they knew better than think the likes of Kiryuu had any chances against their lord, instincts were a hardwired thing, and all of theirs were screaming at them to break in and protect the pureblood.

But young and hot-headed as he may be, Aidou was a born genius, and had clear leadership abilities honed from an early age. Furthermore, his family had long been the most powerful clan among of the royalists, and the others knew better than doubt his undying loyalty for Kaname.

His cousin Cain and their friends Luca and Rima, other eminent members of families who held the pinnacle of the royalist faction, the Kuran supporters, quickly fell to his side, reassuring the rest of the group, and insisting that much as they understood and shared their feelings, no one could possibly meddle in the affairs of a pureblood, much less without permission. They had to trust in Kaname, and wait for him to order them.

Seiren knew that better than anyone, but being unable to do anything in such a situation made her clench her fists until her nails pierced through the flesh of her palms as she stood silently in the corridor, just hoping for the slightest sound or sensation that would indicate that her liege was calling for them.

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"You have to come with me quickly."

Zero hurried through the antechamber and into the bedroom, with Ichijou hot on his heels. The blonde vampire had stared at him in horror, unable to say anything in reply, taking in the sight of the amount of blood the hunter was covered in. It was made even more impressive by the fact that the blood had been diluted in water, thus making it seem like there was an even larger amount.

Vampire senses, even more so those of the more powerful ones, couldn't possibly mistake that scent. Ichijou knew it was Kaname's blood.

He could also tell that not a drop of Zero's blood had been spilled, which told him there had been no fight. That, and Takuma's level-headedness were the grounding anchor that kept him at bay from his primal instinctive urge to crush the hunter into the ground for what seemed to have possibly happened in that room. But he knew better than assuming.

Another vampire might have been more impulsive however, and it was good that Zero had called him in and not someone else.

With the bathroom on their right, they walked through Kaname's study and then left towards his bedroom. Ichijou held his breath and shuddered when he saw the distinct trail of blood crossing the whole place, going from the bathroom to the room they were about to enter.

_Kaname's blood._

But what he saw inside was even more heart wrenching.

Not even in the very worst moments, not even immediately after the pureblood had lost his whole family, or when Ichiou forced him under his guardianship, had Takuma ever seen Kaname the way he was now.

The pureblood was laying on his large bed, the coverlet and blankets thrown off so his body rested directly atop the soft white sheets.

His naked body looked drawn and weakened, and he shivered slightly from the cold or, much more likely, from the powerful feverish state induced by the blood loss, akin in vampires to the symptoms that would normally precede a syncope in a human.

Blood or bloody water were everywhere, painting the scene into even more of an image of horror. Rivulets of it covered the pureblood's ghastly pale skin, drenching the bed and the stained sheets all around him, and soaking through the torn garments Zero had wrapped around the multiple gashes on the pureblood's forearms, makeshift bandages tied tightly in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Absolute desperation in his face, Kaname was currently trying to tear the rags off with his teeth, his razor-sharp fangs extended by the hunger and doing a much better job at cutting the fabric than Zero had assumed they might due to the pureblood's current lack of strength. He had already gotten half of one arm free and blood was oozing down his elbow, flowing anew from wounds that refused to heal since the poison had worked its effect over his healing abilities. He displayed an unexpected amount of energy for someone whose body was crashing into hypovolemic shock.

The hunter rushed to the side of the bed when he saw what Kaname was doing, cursing himself for not having foreseen this, and pulled the pureblood's arms away from his mouth, pinning them to the mattress on each side of his head.

"If you keep this up, I swear, Kuran, I'll tie you to the bed!!"

Kaname breathed raggedly, his head spinning as his vision dimmed and unfocused, but he was still conscious and struggling as much as he could.

"JUST LET ME DIE ALREADY!! Do you have no mercy?! Do you hate me that much?!"

Takuma was standing by the door, completely paralyzed by what he was seeing. He stared at Kaname, willed himself to go to his side, but it was as if his body wouldn't obey him, so shocked he was by the sight in front of him. It was only when Zero yelled for help that he snapped out of it and ran to the bed.

The hunter had pulled off his school tie in a quick movement and was in the process of tying Kaname's wrists together behind his head, securing them tightly to the head of the bed, counting on the fact that in Kaname's current state, he wouldn't have the strength to tear it off. The pureblood reeled against it, trying to pull away, but not succeeding at anything more than merely slowing the hunter down. Quickly, Zero rebandaged the wounds to try to quench the blood flow until they could heal. The sight of those wounds that refused to heal was filling him with a newborn dread that he couldn't explain.

The moment he had seen them bleeding again, Zero realized Kaname had used a hunter drug or weapon on himself, else he would have already healed by now. But he couldn't know how long it would take before the pureblood's body burned off the poison and resumed functioning properly, so he had to do all he could for him in the meantime.

If he wasn't too weak for that, Kaname would have torn at the hunter with his mind, but in this state, he couldn't even do that, which was all for the better really, since he wouldn't forgive himself if he harmed in any way the one Yuuki had chosen, much as it shattered his heart to admit that to himself.

Among choked breaths, he uttered a stream of imprecations against the hunter, half of it in languages neither Kiryuu nor even Ichijou were quite sure they recognized.

When insults had no effect, he lost whatever composure he had left and resorted to begging.

"If you have any mercy in you... If you have ANY decency, don't do this to me! I beg of you, just let me die!! PLEASE!!" There was anger in his voice, but it was nothing compared to the pain it contained.

Ichijou had sat down on the bed on the other side of Kaname, with the intention to help, but all he could do was stare in mesmerized horror. He was now covering his mouth in a nervous reaction.

He felt physically ill. He couldn't look at Kaname's face anymore once he saw the amount of desperation in his friend's eyes, and the tears streaming down his face. No one should have to go through this. It was an immense insult to invade the privacy of a pureblood and see them crying.

When Kaname started begging Takuma thought he'd die on the spot from witnessing it. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be seeing this.

He broke down crying too, just from the sheer misery that emanated from his beloved friend.

Zero was more practical, and focused on the task at hand, thinking that as long as Kaname stayed alive, feelings could be mended later. Or not. He wasn't expecting the pureblood to ever forgive him. But even if he lived just to hate him, it would be better than letting him die like this. Yuuki would never recover. Kaname may be under the impression that he could be discarded like an old rag because Yuuki had gone for Zero, but the hunter knew better than think that Yuuki would have a normal life if Kaname disappeared that way. As a matter of fact, he was pretty strongly convinced that her feelings would never be just for him, much as he wished they could be that way. Kaname had always been the very center of her universe. The pureblood was a colossal part of her life, and Zero wasn't going to let him take it away from her, no matter what Kaname did to him once he was back to his normal level of power. Those things could be dealed with later, as long as Kaname survived.

Unheeding to the pureblood's protests, Zero forced the back of Kaname's head against the mattress, one hand pinning his head down and the other one securely gripping his chin, prying his mouth open by force and paying no heed to his attempts to jerk out of the strong grip.

"Ichijou-senpai, I'll hold him down while you do this! Quick!! He needs to start healing faster before it's too late!"

Takuma jolted, his eyes meeting Zero's as understanding dawned on him.

In Kaname's current state, his body couldn't heal itself fast enough. If his wounds continued bleeding with his struggles, he would soon reach a point of no return, where his body would lose too much blood to function anymore and would begin to solidify quickly, until he shattered and turned to dust.

Ichijou extended his nails and cut a gash in his own wrist, bringing it swiftly to Kaname's lips. But the pureblood didn't want his blood, and arched back against the mattress, fighting with whatever strength he still had left to stop them from forcing the blood into his mouth.

What felt like an eternity ago, faced with a similar state of shock and blood loss, Shizuka Hioh hadn't been able to do more than lay there until she shattered. But cornered into a last stretch of despair, even in shock Kaname still had enough strength to put up a fight. He pulled against his restraints with all he had, to the point that Zero thought the pureblood's arms would snap if the tie didn't give first. Kaname didn't dare try biting either of them to get them away from him, by fear they'd use the occasion to make him swallow the blood. Instead, he hoped to exhaust himself enough in his struggles that his body would finally hit the point of no return.

But he couldn't do more than escape Zero's grip on his head for a moment, and the hunter pinned him to the mattress again, pressing his head back much harder now, forcing the pureblood's jaw open with his other hand.

"NOW, Ichijou-senpai! Now!!"

But Takuma's hand was shaking when he approached his wrist to Kaname's lips. And despite Zero's iron hold on his jaw, Kaname managed to choke out a promise. _"I will...never...forgive...you...Takuma...!!"_

Their eyes met for a moment, both filled with tears. Ichijou held Kaname's gaze, and pulled back his arm.

"What are you doing?!" Zero couldn't keep the grip on the pureblood's jaw forever, and couldn't understand the sudden change in Ichijou. They had to do it now, as fast as possible.

"I...I can't do this, Kiryuu-kun. I can't do this to Kaname."

"Then hold his head!! I'll give him my blood instead!!"

"I can't... I can't, Kiryuu-kun."

Zero threw his hands up, raging in exasperation. This couldn't possibly be happening.

Ichijou continued, his face filled with shame and fixed on a random stain on the sheets. "I won't throw you out, although I really think I should. But I can't help you do this."

Kaname was trying to catch his breath, ragged sobs mixed with panting and making him choke amidst his attempts to tell Takuma to do precisely that and throw Zero out.

Zero shot them both a glare that said much of what he thought of vampires and their stubborn need to make it all so much more complicated.

He got up quickly and ran back to the front door, opening a crack just wide enough to be able to speak, afraid that otherwise the vampires outside might rush him before he could close it.

"Somebody go get Yuuki, NOW!"

He was met with a collective stare of shock and puzzlement.

"NOW!! If you want Kuran to live, bring her NOW!"

He slammed the door shut and rushed back to the room, afraid that if he didn't make it back fast enough, he would find Ichijou untying Kaname by the time he returned. Watching over the pureblood was in part why he couldn't go get her himself, that and the fact he wasn't sure he would make it back inside in one piece if he exited the room.

But when Zero returned to the room, he found the blonde vampire just sitting very still, a worn out look on his face as he caressed Kaname's hair softly. That gesture alone was an amazing breach of protocol. They were close friends, but no one touched a pureblood without their command or permission. That he was not fighting Zero or untying Kaname also spoke so much of his despair. He couldn't bring himself to directly betray Kaname's wishes by forcing his blood into him, but he couldn't stand taking active part in helping the pureblood kill himself either. His eyes were filled with tears and a look of longing nostalgia while he spoke softly to Kaname, babbling of long lost memories and something or another of no importance.

Kaname's eyes were glazed and unfocused, and his struggles against the restraint were more weak now, as if he had less and less strength to continue and would lose it soon. The lack of blood in his body was making his head spin considerably, not enough oxygen making it to his brain. The ringing in his ears wasn't helping either. The fact that he couldn't hear at all what it was that Zero had told the others at the door was by itself proof of how far gone he was.

Zero felt a pang of pain go straight to his heart at the sight. It wasn't just for Yuuki. He had hated the pureblood for a long time, but he had also grown to grudgingly respect him. Seeing him so broken brought an indescribable sadness, and he clenched his teeth while he tore off a piece of the hem of the bedsheets to wrap around Kaname's wrists where his struggles against the tie had cause the blood to start flowing again.

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It was Aidou who went for Yuuki. They didn't decide who would go; the moment Kiryuu spoke, Aidou simply took off running down the stairs as fast as he could, unable to leave such a task in anyone else's hands.

Cain, Luca and the others took his place in front of the door and waited out, hoping he would return fast.

Screw acting like a human and hiding his nature. He ran at inhuman speed and leapt walls to get to the Day Class.

He actually barged into a classroom from a window as it was faster than going through the inside of the building. It had been luckily open, or he wouldn't have hesitated to crash through the glass. It was only luck and a conveniently placed terrasse on the roof of the lower wing of the building that made the students assume he had walked up to the window normally, when he had actually ran up the wall of the building.

But Yuuki was nowhere to be found.

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(To be continued)

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Next chapter tonight or tomorrow hopefully, and if not, then tuesday.

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	3. Chapter 3 : The Immortal Game

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight, this is a fanfic written for fun and for love of the series. I'm not making any money with it.

**Warnings: Angst & blood. Also, spoilers for chapters 30 to 35.**

This is a **partial AU**, because in this fic, some time has passed since episode 30's scene with Kaname & Zero, and there's no move on Rido's part yet. (Think of it as extending things a bit so that Rido attacks later, after the next vacation instead of this one? )

As a result, everybody is still at school including Takuma & co., and things are normal without Rido-in-Shiki's-body stuff as of yet.

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Unsure of Yuuki's schedule, Aidou ran from class to class, first targeting the classrooms he believed where in her year, then, when she was nowhere to be found, panicking and systematically going through each room, a repetition of the same motions over and over, students turning suddenly towards the doors with curiosity, girls squealing as he peeked in, and teachers frowning in surprise and outrage.

It was enough of a commotion that people came out of the classrooms, teachers included in some cases, whether to try to find out what was happening or to chastize the night class student on his _'unacceptable behavior'_ and '_blatant disrespect for his fellow students' classes'._

Needless to say, Aidou didn't even turn to look at them, and caused even more of an uproar by openly ignoring teachers yelling at him as he sped through the corridors, opening new doors and quickly scanning each classroom for the petite brunette that seemed to have vanished off the face of the Earth.

He cursed himself for being unable to locate her. Kaname usually seemed to be able to know where she was, but then, he was a pureblood. It wouldn't be surprising if he really could do that, it was probably natural to him. Aidou on the other hand was certainly a powerful member of the vampire aristocracy, but had no such gifts. If Yuuki had been hurt, the scent of her blood that he had tasted before would enable him to spot her general location, but in a normal situation he didn't have a lot more than a human going in his favor when it came to finding people.

It was pure luck that made that him stop for a moment in a stairway, trying to collect his thoughts and think of other possible places she could have gone to. A small group of his fans started to surround him, delighted to see him during the day and without the interruption of a prefect stopping them from clinging to him.

Lost in his panic-driven urgency, Aidou's first instinct was to shove the girls out of his way immediately, but he wasn't widely regarded as a genius for nothing, and quickly realized this was a blessing in disguise.

And sure enough, one of the girls currently swooning around him -- and strongly pondering on whether or not feeling up the front of his jacket was appropriate behavior -- had been in class with Yuuki until a short while before, and was delighted to talk to him, even if it was just to inform him that the prefect had felt ill and had to be excused from class and sent home. At her eyes, any reason to talk to Idol was a good one, regardless of the fact he was actually asking about another girl.

He took off so fast that the girls saw him more as a blur than anything, and wondered if they were seeing things.

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Pushing back shut the heavy door of the haussmannian style house that had been her home since she was six, Yuuki shuddered, trying to convince herself that the dreadful feeling that had been clinging to her since the previous night was nothing more than her imagination.

Zero didn't show up in class all day, but that was hardly unheard of. And yet, she couldn't help but worry that maybe the uneasiness she felt meant something had happened to him. She had the feeling that she could sort of sense it somehow when the hunter was in danger. It wasn't anything concrete, but some sort of connection at one level or another that let her know that things were not running normally, perhaps because of so many years protecting him from his nightmares and memories.

The rational side of her mind told her it wasn't real, and reminded her of a recent occasion where she had gotten that feeling and it caused her to run through the night all over the school grounds, desperately searching for the hunter because she could swear he was about to fall to level E, and yet the next day he showed up looking healthier than ever and perfectly fine. She had been wrong then, so she could be wrong today too.

But the feeling of dread seizing her now was completely different from what she felt that night, and something deeply rooted in her soul told her it wasn't Zero at all.

She had gotten that feeling at some points in the past too, but she couldn't pinpoint when exactly. Throughout her childhood, it would generally only fully cease when Kaname would come to visit them.

It was almost as if her instincts were fearing for Kaname's safety, this time around. _But surely, Kaname was too strong to be in danger, right? _

She had always assumed he was this rock-solid invincible presence, that would always be there for her, and that couldn't possibly be harmed. His being a pureblood vampire, a nearly immortal being with powers a human mind couldn't even begin to grasp only further lulled her into a sense of false safety that somehow made her believe he would be fine forever.

But the chilling feeling running up her spine hadn't left her all day. It started at some point during the previous night, while she tossed in her bed at the dorm, unable to fall sleep, and as the day came and the hours passed, she started to actually feel physically ill and had to leave in the middle of the class.

She had just arrived at her adoptive father's place to ask if he knew of anything, and was planning to go to the Moon Dorms next, or at least to ask him to go check on Kaname for her, if she felt too sick to go by herself. She wasn't too sure if she could face Kaname at the moment either, after what had happened the previous afternoon. It was only the urgency of that feeling that made her even able to consider the idea of going to the Moon Dorm so soon after what happened.

Kaname was probably fine and she was just a worrywart, but she had to be sure. She wished Zero was there so she could ask him what he thought. He would know how to tell her that she was worrying for nothing, and he might even manage to say it in a way that she would believe too. He was always more convincing than she was when she tried to reassure herself of something, even if he only believed her words when he was the one worried about something.

But at the moment, whatever anyone said, no matter how sure of Kaname's strength she may be, she couldn't shake off the growing dread that twisted her insides and made her legs weak with fear.

The hunter and her hadn't been able to talk much the previous night either. She had been feeling terribly guilty since the incident that afternoon, and even though Zero was less expressive about those things, it was clear from his behavior that he felt bad too.

The previous day, as they left the school building to prepare for their daily watch over the transition between classes, they had passed by a more secluded area already deserted as the Day Class quickly moved towards the gates to wait for the Night class.

Surprising Yuuki, Zero had finally decided that whatever the future may hold for him, he didn't want to live or die without ever telling her how he felt, and casting aside his hesitation at last, he went forward and confessed his feelings for her.

She wasn't sure what that would entail for the two of them, but she felt she had to answer to his sincerity in the same manner, and so she had admitted that she felt the same way as well.

Long had she fought herself to try to believe that her feelings for him where only fraternal, but over the years, it had evolved more and more to the point that she had been feeling more and more confused lately, inevitably feeling guilty for what she saw as a duality of her heart that she had trouble understanding.

She sighed at the memory, stopping for a moment before knocking and pushing the door to the chairman's living room open. She didn't regret opening up to Zero, and it marvelled her to know his feelings for her were so much more than anything she could have imagined, but even though she should be happy because of that now, she couldn't help but think that maybe the price to pay for that happiness was much too high, perhaps so high that it made it impossible to come true.

Once Zero had been convinced that he wouldn't be rejected and that she actually shared the same feelings he had for her, he had finally done what he'd been often tempted to since much longer ago, and captured her lips in a shy but passionate kiss.

Her heart throbbing loudly in her own ears, Yuuki had reciprocated the kiss, her head spinning, unsure if she was doing the right thing but unable to think straight and in the end just following her heart and giving in to what felt so right to do.

Coincidence, or more likely not, made that the next thing they knew, Kaname was standing a few meters away, looking at them with an unreadable expression, his eyes glowing like blood stained embers in the dimming dusk light.

She had felt so terribly ashamed. _How many times had she told him throughout the years how much she cared for him! _At one point that same year she had even confessed to wanting to spend eternity by his side, and to being ready to do anything for him. Short of an official declaration of love, she had always given Kaname very clear signs that she loved him with all her being, and yet now he found her kissing someone else. Her heart plummeted, falling from the heights it had reached a moment ago, all the way down to a dark pit of shame that spread like searing flames under her skin, a flush taking over her body all the way to the roots of her hair as she lost her voice and trembled with guilt under Kaname's unmoving gaze.

The shame and guilt she felt for having the same feelings for the both of them knew no bounds and outmatched by far the elation she experienced earlier at finally being free of the secret she found heavier and heavier to carry around Zero. She was happy that Zero and her had finally spoken out loud of what they had been tiptoeing around for so long, but her heart was broken for Kaname.

The situation was very dramatic already, and she knew that Zero and Kaname had never gotten along to begin with, so it was extra painful to explain to Kaname that she realized now that she had feelings for Zero that she didn't understand before, and that what he had witnessed was the result of their mutual feelings.

In her absolute panic at the idea that Kaname would inevitably hate her now, she was unable to hold his gaze, failed at finding the words to explain herself, stumbled in her explanations to the point of being only half understandable or even sounding almost cold in her curt explanations, when it was the very opposite effect she would have wanted to convey, sincere shame at the situation she believed she had caused.

She strongly felt that she had betrayed Kaname, even though she had no control over her heart. She expected him to hate her, was certain there was no avoiding it, and the mere idea of Kaname feeling that way about her was so terribly painful that it made her unable to even think straight. She couldn't rise her eyes and meet his. She felt that what she had done by loving Zero was something unforgivable, for which Kaname had every right to despise her. In her shame, she could not even bear the weight of his gaze, and it made her inch slowly closer to Zero and cling to his arm, partially hiding herself behind his back while she spoke to Kaname, her eyes glued to the ground trying to hold back tears as she bowed repeatedly while mumbling apologies that grated in her ears and sounded more and more confusing.

She was so sure he would be angry... how could anyone not be in such a situation? She felt her every word insulted him, and the fear that her apologies might only be making it all worse led her to shake harder and harder as she hid behind Zero's arm.

In the end, she told Kaname of the whole situation while hiding behind the hunter throughout the whole time, as if she needed a shield because she was afraid of him or thought he might do something to her, when in truth, she simply felt too wrong to have him look at her, as if she didn't deserve him to see her.

In a way, it was similar to the way she felt after that party where she had been hiding in the basement room of the building belonging to Aidou's family, and where Kaname had asked her if she would want to become a vampire and live forever by his side. She wanted nothing more than being with him, but her emotions were so strong that she started crying, and he stopped in his tracks instead of turning her. She hated herself for promising her love to him then acting in a way that made it look as if she wasn't serious. She didn't chose to cry, it just happened, but she couldn't explain that to him at that moment.

Luckily, Kaname had seen through her turmoil when she hid behind Zero the next day, too ashamed to face him. He was able to wash away all her worries by simply telling her that he knew she had not lied.

But this was a completely different situation, and unlike her tears in the basement then, in this case there was no possible mistaking what Zero and her were doing when he found them, and she hated herself a million times over.

Too ashamed of herself to feel worthy of stepping closer to Kaname to speak, she failed to notice that she was sending off all the wrong messages in the way she moved and spoke throughout her explanations. She meant to deeply apologize, to somehow salvage the damage the had caused, but all she achieved was to accidentally convey the impression that everything that had or had not existed between them was over and that she belonged to Zero now.

And this time, Kaname was in too much pain himself to be as perceptive about her confused explanations as he was the previous time. At his eyes, she had grown more and more distant over the years, and this was the final conclusion of it all, a clean break from him and all that could have been.

In truth, Yuuki wanted to tell Kaname that her heart was really weird right now, and that she didn't know what to think about her feelings... she wanted to tell him that she loved him with all her heart... but she also did love Zero with all her heart. _She couldn't possibly say that, could she?_ She felt she would be insulting him considerably if she dared to speak those words. How could she possibly be in love with two people at once?! Kaname was normally already so much above her, the current situation made him completely unreachable at her eyes. She had no right to love him. It was already unbelievable that Zero would accept her.

_If only she could tell him... but telling him she still loved him even though he had just seen Zero and her together... How could she possibly tell him that? _

So she swallowed her pain, and tried in vain to find words to apologize properly, stumbling all over whatever she said over and over while she bowed repeatedly from behind Zero's back. The hunter also looked terribly contrite and stood in silence, eyes locked elsewhere, avoiding looking much at Kaname, no hint of his usual unnerving arrogance towards the pureblood. Zero clearly looked guilty too, torn between the bliss of knowing Yuuki actually did love him, and the guilt of feeling like he had stolen something so utterly precious from someone else.

Yuuki shuddered again, the events of the previous day replaying in her mind while waves of regret washed through her body. She would have given so much to have been able to change how things went. To be able to tell Kaname how she felt... But she couldn't possibly.

She was incapable of telling Kaname she loved him. Much as her feelings for the two of them were pure, the very fact that she had them for both made that she felt too dirty to even dare to have those feelings. She couldn't control that, but she felt she would soil him by merely looking at him, much less telling him her feelings. For years she hadn't dared to go forward all the way because she was convinced that he couldn't possibly have feelings for her. Now that this happened, how could she possibly expect him to?

Furthermore, Yuuki had grown used to be there for Zero when he needed her, to be ready to proect him, from his own darkness or from the past, while with Kaname she had the opposite dynamic: it was he who protected her, he whom she relied upon. He was so strong... He would be fine. She had no idea he was only strong because he had to be that way for her, and that without her, he didn't see a meaning in his life.

If one of them desperately needed her to survive, she was mistakenly persuaded that it would be Zero. So she gritted her teeth and bore the pain of having her heart torn in two, both for the sake of being with who she thought needed her most, and because she was unable to tell Kaname of those feelings that she believed would insult him.

Much as it tore her heart apart, at her eyes it was perhaps a fitting punishment that she should lose his love for daring to have loved Zero as well. She almost expected to lose them both for that sin for which she couldn't forgive herself.

Kaname hadn't taken the news well, when she had told him. But he did take them like the gentleman he was.

He even mustered the courage to tell her to please not be afraid of him, and that he was _'just surprised that his little Yuuki was growing up so fast'. _

He tried to reassure her that it was okay, and that it wasn't as if he had some claim of ownership over her or anything. He smiled a lot, trying to convey to her the warmth he'd always given her as she grew up. He wished them good luck even.

But his body language was as wrong as hers, and it really clashed, on someone normally as controlled as Kaname. Pain was seeping through his very pores, contrasting radically with his congratulatory words and smiles. It had only gotten even worse when he realized that she couldn't bring herself to look at him and saw her cling to Kiryuu's arm as if she feared him.

Right around the part he was wishing them good luck, he suddenly realized that one of the tears he thought were under control was rolling down his left cheek in full sight of the two, who stared at it with matching looks of surprise, the hunter's arm tensing having made Yuuki inadvertently rise her eyes and see it.

He turned away suddenly and laughed it off saying it was the emotion. But his laughter wasn't the musical sound she was used to, it was more like a desperate rasp. He muttered an excuse for having to go so suddenly and disappeared for the evening, skipping class as well.

After that, Zero and her went on to their evening patrol, but they didn't have the heart to talk about anything, and parted ways to each of their dorms with nothing more than an embarrassed glance, before a long night of feeling guilty and tossing around without managing to fall asleep.

She swallowed her own urge to break down crying, and pushed the door open, greeting her father weakly as she entered the room.

But she barely had the time to explain she had to leave class early, before the window suddenly exploded in a flurry of glass and ice chunks, particles of what seemed like a powerful hail storm flying all around them as Aidou appeared, gripping the wall as he stood in the windowsill and scanning the room for her before he practically flew in lunging for her.

For a moment there, Cross feared the worst, but he felt no symptoms of bloodlust in the young vampire, just an absolute terrified panic and urgency, allied to... _was it the need to protect someone? _

The feeling of uneasiness that had been building in his heart all day wasn't just an impression then. His old hunter intuition had told him there was something dreadfully wrong in motion.

Aidou didn't bother explaining himself though, and he was lucky that the chairman was so wise and perceptive, for any other ex-vampire hunter wouldn't take it so lightly if they saw a crazed vampire barge in through the window, snatch an arm around their daughter's waist and disappear through the window just as fast.

Carried away by Aidou at high speed, Yuuki wasn't so sure of his good intentions and was now more than a little scared as he'd swung her over his shoulder and leapt onto the threes in the direction of the Moon Dorms.

"Aidou-senpai!! Senpai!! Put me down right now!! We can talk! Why are you doing this??"

"WE HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS!!"

Yuuki was panicking. She had no hunter instincts nor any extra-sensorial ability to allow herself to know that Aidou was in a hurry for a good reason. From her point of view he seemed to just have lost it, and her phobia caused by the vampire who attacked her when she was five was kicking in full blast, making her trash in his arms screaming in terrified panic.

Aidou had never seen her that way. She was struggling so hard that she was throwing him too much off balance. If she had been prey, there were effective ways to force her into not moving, but he didn't want to hurt Yuuki, so he put her down on the ground to try to quickly explain himself.

She was so scared by now that he had to latch onto her arm as soon as they were on the ground because she tried to take off running the moment her feet touched the ground.

"Listen Yuuki, I can't stop here, we have to get to Kaname-sama, NOW! Something bad happened, and I don't know what Kiryuu or you did or can do, but Kaname-sama... Kaname-sama is..."

He didn't know exactly what had happened, of course, but he was far from blind. Kaname's mood when he returned and disappeared into his room the previous day was already worrisome.

There had been no fight and no scent of anyone else's blood, and yet his blood was all over Kiryuu when the hunter opened the room's door and talked to them today. And Ichijou disappearing into the room and not returning didn't help reassure anyone either.

Kaname didn't call them. Kaname probably didn't want them in there. Their hands were tied, so Aidou had hoped that an outsider like Kiryuu would be able to do something that they couldn't, and he went as far as not letting anyone intervene even when they vaguely heard Kaname's cries of protest. The pureblood knew they were there, waiting for his orders, and as long as he did not expressly call for them, they would not be allowed to enter. But it seems Kiryuu couldn't do anything either.

If someone could possibly save Kaname, it would be Yuuki. And for that, Aidou was determined to drag her there by force if he had to.

"Kaname-sama needs you. If you don't go to him right now, it might be too late by the time you make up your mind!"

Aidou's eyes were wet, and his grip on her shoulders was painful as he nearly shook her when he spoke.

She stared at him uncomprehendingly, but a horrified terror dawned on her features at his words. The feeling that had been haunting her all day suddenly made a lot of sense, the dread in her heart taking shape in a most frightening manner. _Kaname... dying? _Was such a thing even possible? And she had been foolishly assuming he was fine, indestructible, immortal and what not?

They were halfway to the dorms now. Aidou held onto her hand and took off running, Slower than the speed he could achieve by himself but still much too fast for her. She tried to keep up as best as she could, thinking her legs were about to give out anytime now. She stumbled and fell several times, scrapping her knees badly each time because whenever she lost her balance it would take him a moment to realize she wasn't on her feet anymore. Eventually, she directly asked him to carry her again. Much as it was terribly frightening to be hoisted in the air by a vampire and carried around like that, she couldn't keep up otherwise, and the desperation in Aidou's behavior told her of how urgent it was.

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In Kaname's room, Ichijou was pacing nervously. He'd been quiet for a while now, but he felt worse and worse about the situation. Letting Kaname die as he wanted would be horrible, and yet, forcing him to live against his will was perhaps even worse. And at any rate, he was convinced that no one had the right to make that decision but Kaname himself. He felt increasingly restless and searched for a non-violent way to try to convince the hunter.

Zero was leaning over Kaname, pinning his arms down to the bed so that the pureblood struggled less. He leaned in more, purposefully leaving his neck very close to Kaname's face, clinging to a twisted hope that if Kaname passed out, then maybe the hunger automatically triggered by the blood loss would cause his body to react on instinct and bite him.

Even if nothing horrified the hunter more than the possibility of a vampire taking him for prey once again. The simple idea of it sent terrified shivers through his whole body as he leaned forward, desperately trying to focus on anything but the memory of Shizuka's fangs on his neck, her lips hovering lecherously over his skin, the loathed sensation burning with terrible reality as he held Kaname so close to his neck.

Another pureblood.

It was necessary, it was for Yuuki, it was so she would be okay, but it was all Zero could do to focus with all his mind on those thoughts, to be able to continue functioning and pinning the pureblood down on the bed.

But Kaname was still very much conscious, and Zero was amazed that he still had enough control to not call for the help of the other vampires. If the pureblood could avoid doing that despite how desperate he was, then there wasn't really any chances of managing to get him to unconsciously bite Zero.

Much as Kaname still struggled constantly against his captor, although more and more weakly, the both of them knew that if he wanted a really effective way to get Zero off him, all he had to do was scream for help. Vampire hearing was extremely powerful. The growing crowd in the corridor would be inside in a second, and would tear Zero to pieces.

Even if Kaname could not use his mind powers at the moment, a command from a pureblood was law, and they would all obey. That he was so desperate to end his life to go as far as begging to Zero, and yet did not call them at any moment was an incredible proof of the control he still had. Zero winced with guilt, knowing he could only do what he was currently doing to Kaname because the pureblood refused to harm him. Even on the doorsteps of death, he was thinking of Yuuki's wishes before his own. Zero couldn't help the tears stinging in his eyes.

"You stupid, stubborn jerk... Don't you die on her! Don't you dare!!" he couldn't believe the lump in his throat, making his voice shaky._ Was he really almost crying because of the idea of Kuran dying?!_

Kaname didn't seem to notice, his own mind too lost in the pain. "She...has you... now... She no...longer...needs me..." How could simple words hurt so much to say? But if only he could get the hunter to understand, maybe he would finally leave him alone.

Zero was surprised to hear the pureblood's voice still sounding coherent. He hadn't made much sense in what he had been saying through gritted teeth during the time that had passed since Aidou left.

"Just hold on a bit longer, Kuran. You have to live. Yuuki is almost here."

The change upon hearing those words was so sudden that the pureblood almost managed to throw the hunter off the bed, for a moment, as Zero wasn't expecting the reaction or the surge of renewed energy, and had been putting less strength on his hold of Kaname's arms.

"WHAT?? WHAT?! YOU CALLED YUUKI HERE?? YOU FOOL!!"

It was as if his strength had decupled in a matter of a second. Kaname now trashed violently against Zero's hold, still extremely weakened, but stronger even than when they had tried to force him to drink Ichijou's blood.

This was bad. He was struggling too hard for Zero to be able to hold his arms well without making the wounds worse, and either way the tie was biting into Kaname's wounds, tearing the flesh open where it hadn't closed completely.

"SHE CAN'T SEE THIS!! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!"

The pureblood was fully alert now, as if the desperation had brought him out of the daze he'd been slipping in deeper until now. Reassuring as that may be from a certain viewpoint, it also meant he was quickly squandering whatever forces he had left, and it wouldn't be long before he used up whatever reserves he still had, and his body began the solidification preceding death in a vampire's body.

"If... if you're concerned about the blood and the nudity, I'll cover you, don't worry, I'll get a sheet and..." Zero was babbling fast, nervously trying to get a grasp on Kaname without causing any additional damage, but the bloody skin was slippery and made matters even harder. Kaname still had a surprising amount of strength left, to the point that Zero looked up worried when the head of the bed made a nasty cracking sound and almost gave way. It was a marvel the tie hadn't torn off, probably pure luck combined with the strong silk and how many times Zero had wrapped it around.

"YOU MISERABLE FOOL! DO YOU WANT HER TO SEE ME DIE?!"

"You won't! Just wait until she's here!!"

Seething hatred in his eyes, Kaname seemed now to have finally gotten cornered as far as he could possibly go. Once there's no more space to run, a wounded beast has only one choice left and becomes all the more dangerous. Without interrupting his trashing, Kaname finally commanded.

_**"Takuma!! If you ever felt any loyalty to me, come to my help, now!!"**_

If trying to pin Kaname down wasn't hard enough, his hunter instincts suddenly sent a jolt through Zero's mind, intuition telling him to look up quickly towards the direction he felt a new danger coming from.

Ichijou had taken the Bloody Rose and had it pointed at Zero's forehead.

"Kiryuu-kun... I'm sorry, but you must leave now."

"Oh no, not you too!!"

Zero kicked himself mentally for having put the gun away from himself in the first place. He hadn't wanted it anywhere near them, where there was a risk that Kaname might manage to take it from him and use it on himself.

"I will shoot you if I have to. You may think I'm just an easygoing person, but I should remind you of what I once told you about ex-human vampires. And you must know I am the one with the highest kill count in this group."

He was referring the the times the Elder's Council had sent for them to eradicate a level E before the hunters got to it. His eyes were filled with sorrow at threatening an innocent, but he saw no other choice, and would stand by Kaname to the very end.

Zero knew he was serious. He had seen him kill before his very eyes before, in a single graceful sword strike. But he chose to still call the bluff, based on how hard Kaname had been protecting him by not calling anyone's help until now.

"I don't believe you. Shoot me if you have to, but I won't let go of him."

His hunter intuition told him it was a terribly dangerous move, playing with the loyalty of a vampire aristocrat towards a pureblood. A fool's move maybe. He might not be as good a strategist as Kaname, but he simply had no other pieces to play.

He bet all he had on the chance Takuma wouldn't have the courage to pull the trigger.

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Zero was very wrong. Takuma shot him without so much as a flinch of hesitation.

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(to be continued)

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Chapter 4, hopefully tomorrow, otherwise sometime this week.


	4. Chapter 4 : Intermediate Move

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight, this is a fanfic written for fun and for love of the series. I'm not making any money with it.

**Warnings: Angst & blood. Also, spoilers for chapters 30 to 35 and things before.**

This is a** partial AU**, because in this fic, some time has passed since episode 30's scene with Kaname & Zero, and there's no move on Rido's part yet. (Think of it as extending things a bit so that Rido attacks later, after the next vacation instead of this one? lol)

As a result, everybody is still at school including Takuma & co., and things are normal without Rido-in-Shiki's-body stuff as of yet.

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The tall doors of the Moon Dorm's entry hall swung open and slammed against the walls on each side, as Aidou ran in still carrying Yuuki.

The rooms were in the back, Kaname's one in the very center, so in the case of this building, it was faster to come in through the doors rather than go around the whole building, and so Aidou didn't have to break anymore windows.

He plopped Yuuki down on her feet and they ran up the stairs as fast as they could, Aidou holding her arm as she valiantly tried to keep up with him without stumbling much.

There was a large crowd in the corridor, part of it having to stand at the top of the stairs by lack of room left in the immediate vicinity of the entry to Kaname's room. The vampires had all seen them enter the dorm, and stepped aside to allow them passage, some with hope in their eyes, others with disgust at the idea of the human girl being called, and possibly allowed in their lord's chambers when they were not.

But about the time Aidou and Yuuki were reaching the top of the stairs, they suddenly ceased to be the center of the vampires' attention, as the door to Kaname's chambers peeked open again, and Ichijou came out, very pale and silent, eyes cast down.

The crowd had been going wild in anguish, not only because a lot of time had passed and their patience was running thinner and thinner, but more recently also because of the gunshot that was heard.

Seiren herself had had to intervene to stop some of them from breaking in, and it was only the unwavering loyalty for Kaname that the group of friends by the door had that convinced the crowd to still remain obediently outside.

It was mind blowing for them all, because it was deeply ingrained in their very nature to protect a pureblood in a potential situation of danger, and yet Kaname's refusal to call for them made it clear that he did not wish for their intervention, and a forced entry on his chambers would be a direct breach of his unspoken command.

Now that Ichijou had exited, they were in an uproar again. _What had happened? How was Kaname-sama? Did he need help? Could they go in now?_

Kiryuu was well known to them as a hunter. The majority of the night class still didn't know that he was a vampire himself, and many were now assuming the gunshot had been from him, possibly against Kaname-sama. Some were even eyeing Yuuki with very dangerous looks, since she was also a prefect and had been called there by the hunter. Seeing their eyes, it was easy to understand that the peace in that school existed very much simply because it was Kaname's wish.

"I'm the one who shot the gun. And Kaname still doesn't wants anyone to go in." Ichijou's voice was uneven, and combined with his eyes, visibly reddened by the tears he had been shedding since he first saw Kaname's state, it had a dramatic effect on the vampires.

They were all very silent now. Even Aidou and Yuuki had stopped dead in their tracks, transfixed by his haggard expression.

Wild speculation was going through their minds as to what happened and if someone was shot, the ones who suspected or knew about Kiryuu being a vampire hoping it was just the hunter who got shot. But no one dared to say a word just yet.

"I...Ichijou-senpai?"

Yuuki was too scared for Kaname to actually be scared of the vampires glaring at her. At this point, she didn't even realize yet that Zero had been inside the room as well. All she knew was that somewhere beyond that door, Kaname needed her, and Ichijou had just said that no one would go through.

"I'm sorry Yuuki-chan. That includes you too. No one will pass while I guard this door."

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_"I will shoot you if I have to. You may think I'm just an easygoing person, but I should remind you of what I once told you about ex-human vampires. And you must know I am the one with the highest kill count in this group."_

_"I don't believe you. Shoot me if you have to, but I won't let go of him." _

_His hunter intuition told him it was a terribly dangerous move, playing with the loyalty of a vampire aristocrat towards a pureblood. A fool's move maybe. He might not be as good a strategist as Kaname, but he simply had no other pieces to play. _

He bet all he had on the chance Takuma wouldn't have the courage to pull the trigger.

Zero was very wrong. Takuma shot him without so much as a flinch of hesitation.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

It was Kaname who screamed as he saw the bullet impact with the hunter's body. The pureblood arched his back against the bed in an impossible attempt to get up, wishing with all his will that he could have stopped the bullet or taken the shot, nearly breaking his wrists as he pulled and the tie still held against whatever little strength he had left.

Zero flew backwards as the anti-vampire gun blasted a gaping hole through his shoulder and sent him crashing heavily against the wall, before sliding down to the ground, leaving a bloody trail down the wall.

Takuma had not had the heart to shoot Zero in the head, and he knew Kaname wouldn't approve of it either, so at the last moment he had lowered the gun muzzle to shoot the boy in the shoulder instead. But it was a very close call.

Zero coughed blood and wheezed as he sat up with difficulty, trying to get up from the spot where he lay in a mess of crumbled plaster, but instead falling forward when his legs buckled under him.

On a weaker ex-human vampire, it might have been an instant kill, the victim dissolving into ash before the body even hit the ground. It didn't hit the heart, so perhaps it wouldn't have been a certain kill on a stronger one, but deprived of their healing ability, the victim was likely to bleed to death from the wound.

It was probably only because Zero had drank Kaname's blood in the past that he had survived with relatively so little damage.

Takuma was powerful enough to have felt his friend's aura flowing through the hunter's veins before, something a lesser vampire would never have been able to perceive. Few had such attuned senses, even among the aristocracy.

It had puzzled him immensely, and he never dared to ask Kaname about it. But he bet on that chance, hoping that thanks to Kaname's blood Zero wouldn't die from the bullet.

"Kiryuu-kun, the next bullet will be in the head. You leave me no other choice. Please leave now."

Zero panted, pressing his hand to the wound in his shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding. He finally managed to get up, slowly and unsteadily, holding onto the wall for balance, some rubble and dust falling from the back of his jacket, where the plaster of the wall had cracked and clung to the fabric. He staggered a little trying not to fall.

Takuma was an adversary against whom Kiryuu would have a hard time and probably lose if it was a normal fight. With the aristocrat armed and the hunter badly wounded, it wouldn't be a fight to begin with.

Kaname was strangely still, staring in horror at the blood seeping from Zero's wound, soaking onto the hunter's school uniform and mixing with Kaname's blood that was still wet on it.

Takuma had the determination of desperate men in his eyes, and when Zero didn't move, he leveled the gun at the hunter's head and tensed, about to pull the trigger a second time.

But before he could pull his finger back, a terribly weakened voice that nevertheless still held a clear commanding tone stopped him.

"Takuma, you can stop now. It is you who will leave the room."

"Kaname?"

"I'm sorry... This is all my fault. I... I should never have given you that order..." His breath was labored, making it hard for him to speak without stopping for air.

He hated to be unable to explain it better, but he needed to defuse that situation immediatly, and this was the fastest way. "It's fine now. I would like to be alone with Kiryuu."

"Kaname... I'm so...so sorry..."

Fresh tears rolled down Takuma's face. There was nothing else he could have done, and yet, he felt so terribly lost, convinced that he had failed his friend and lord.

Kaname had ideally meant for Takuma to get Zero out of the room in a non lethal manner, but nothing short of bullets seemed to convince him. And even shot, the hunter was still not leaving.

Zero's move had won after all.

He had misread Takuma's resolve, but he was ultimately right about Kaname. Even cornered and at the very end, Kaname would not have him harmed. The pureblood was angry, but it was at himself for taking such a risk.

Kaname also felt terribly bad for Takuma. He didn't want him to have Zero's death on his conscience. Powerful as he may be, Takuma was a gentle soul, and Kaname would rather he didn't stay in that room any longer. The pureblood's original intention was to die alone, and to minimize the pain his loved ones might feel. Takuma being involved in this situation was unplanned, and unwished for. It was better for him to leave before things got much worse.

Kaname wanted to say something, many things, things he had always meant to tell Takuma, but could never bring himself to, whether because of his position as a pureblood or because deep in his heart, he had always had a twisted little feeling that maybe one day, Takuma might follow the fate of his blood and betray him.

He regreted not telling him those things before, especially now. But it was too late, so he did what he could, and smiled at the blonde vampire, doing all he physically could to muster an imitation of the pure, innocent smile that Takuma hadn't seen on his lips since the two were small children, long before the shroud of darkness descended upon Kaname's life.

Staring at that smile like he would never be able to pull his eyes away, Takuma broke down crying for the last time.

Turning around and getting away from that bed was one of the hardest things he did in his whole life.

Both sides had made heavy sacrifices, but as Takuma walked away from the bedroom, Kaname felt that risky as it may be, his strategy may still win in the end. Zero may have won this battle, but he would have the final victory.

Inevitably, with the rate at which Zero was losing blood from the gunshot, he would soon succumb to the bloodlust, and the only blood available there was what little was left in Kaname's veins.

Once Zero lost his mind to the hunger, he would attack him, and put an end to it all.

"Kiryuu... come here."

"N...No..."

"You have no choice. Don't tell me you want us both to die? Who will protect Yuuki then? Only one of us will survive this, and it should be you. She chose you."

It was pure logic, but it hurt immensely to say it, even if it was to further drive the point into Zero's mind. Kaname choked a whimper of misery while he caught his breath again from the effort of saying those words out loud.

It shouldn't take much longer now. Zero was powerful, even more so since he drank from the pureblood, but no ex-human vampire could possibly resist the hunger with so much blood spilled in the room. He must be going insane just from the scent everywhere, including on his clothes.

"Kaname... you idiot."

Zero had straightened himself as well as he could and raised his head to look at him. Both vampires had burning red eyes, bloodlust hitting its peak in their bodies, but in Zero's case his ex-human nature would make that he wouldn't be able to control it.

Vampires sensed the prey based among other things on body heat, or more exactly, on the heat of the blood under the prey's skin. They could tell exactly the location of the body with the highest blood flow, pinpoint exactly where each vein was and could have found it with their eyes closed.

With no one else in the room, tied to a bed soaked in his blood, Kaname was like a shining beacon in the darkness.

"Come, Zero. Let us finish this." Kaname beckoned, grim invitation in his eyes, a deadly mirror of the first time he had urged Zero to drink his blood.

But what the pureblood wasn't counting on was that with the strenght his blood had confered Zero, it had also heightened the hunter's self-control to a level much higher than that of an ex-human. Zero's level of power was by now well into the power range of an aristocrat vampire, remarkably higher than anything an ex-human could normally do. That power allowed him to survive the gunshot, but also gave him a veneer of control that no ex-human could ever dream of.

"No Kaname. It is you who are the fool now."

Zero stood still and stared Kaname down until the pureblood had a tinge of uncertainty in his gaze, then, with this little victory in hand, the hunter walked out of the bedroom, across the study and into the bathroom, and in a direct line in full sight of the pureblood still tied to the bed, he kneeled in front of the bathtub still filled with Kaname's now cold blood mixed in the water.

"N-No..."

"I win, Kaname."

Zero dove his face into the bloody liquid, revulsed by the cold sticky feeling, horrified at himself, but drinking deeply. It was very diluted in the water, but it was Kuran blood, the strongest of all pureblood clans.

If it came straigth from Kaname's veins, the hunter only would have needed a mere few sips of it to instantly heal from his wound. Diluted as it was, he would have to drink a bit more of it, but it was still perfectly feasible despite the water.

He drank gulp after gulp, nearly choking in his attempts to get more of it faster. Finally, enough of it was flowing through his system; a sudden sting he recalled feeling before spread now through his shoulder as new flesh spread its tendrils as if it unwrapped from inside his wound, and skin grew anew over it.

He clenched his fists tightly, his whole body racked by the sheer euphoria of the pure vampire blood in him. He had called it a poison before, but it was because he hadn't wanted to admit to Kaname just how good it felt. It made him more vampire than ever, this feeling, and he hated it for it, but it was also indescribably pleasurable. Stronger than any other blood, even when diluted and not taken directly from someone, the pure vampire blood was already absorbed by his body and flowing into his veins.

Zero sank his face back into it and drank more, dangerously tempted to never stop, but he managed to pull out of it before he lost himself in the euphoria.

The bloodlust was completly subdued by now, and he reeled back with the power that flowed anew through his veins.

Standing up, he wiped his face on the sleeve of his uniform, succeeding more at smudging the blood around than cleaning himself since his clothes were still soaked. Now he could walk up to the bed without fear. He had nearly lost it earlier, and it was only by an immense amount of control that he had managed to tear his mind off the vulnerable body offered in front of him, and instead move away and go for the cold liquid in the tub.

The reason why he had stared Kaname down wasn't merely arrogance, but an attempt to focus on something strongly enough to gather his control into not attacking. He had been so close to failing and ruining it all, but the tinge of uncertainty he saw in Kaname's eyes sealed the hunter's victory.

Kaname was seething, but no longer with anger. He had played all his pieces and lost to Zero, another time. It was his own fault that he had underestimated the hunter, but then again, he hadn't had many pieces in game to begin with anyway.

"I don't suppose... you'd have the... decency to finish...me, would you?" But the tone of his voice already told that he didn't really have any hope.

Zero merely raised his eyebrows and sat on the side of the bed with a saddened look, not bothering to answer.

"You know, Kaname... I came here to stop you, but I can't force you to live either. I'm trying all I can and you still... This is never going to work unless you cooperate too."

Zero was right. For the short moment he had stayed silent, Kaname's mind had already started wandering towards an alternate plan that he could put in motion once enough time had passed that Zero would lower his guard around him, even if he did succeed at forcing him to live for now.

The pureblood sighed painfully.

"It's just not possible, Kiryuu. You don't seem to understand, and yet you feel the same."

Kaname went silent to catch his breath. He wasn't even struggling with his restraints now, knowing well that he stood no chance in his present condition, and not feeling like having the hunter pinning him down again. He was filled with an immense hopeless despair. It radiated from him in an aura of such concentrated pain that it was getting physically painful to stay in the same room for Zero, who was extra sensitive from his vampire perceptions and hunter senses being enhanced by the recent pure blood intake.

Much as he needed to make Kaname live for Yuuki, Zero knew well where he was coming from. The pureblood was right, he would have done the same himself.

Of course, he would have felt horrible for making Yuuki sad, and he would have tried to do things discretly, so that hopefully she wouldn't even know it was suicide. Perhaps he would just disappear one day, and she wouldn't know he died. He would just leave and vanish suddenly. He had been sorely tempted to do exactly that so many times in the past already, and that was without Yuuki even being with Kaname officially, although it wasn't that far from that, since her feelings for Kaname were obvious enough that it was an agony for Zero to watch her. But how would he have felt if she was officially in a couple with the pureblood? He couldn't blame Kaname for doing exactly the same thing he would have done.

They were such extremes, and yet in a way, they were more alike than it would seem, especially when it came to their devotion to Yuuki.

He came there with the firm decision of stopping the pureblood at any cost and no matter the consequences, but things were far from what he expected. He had no idea Kaname was that desperate. He didn't expect him to be in so much pain either.

In fact, he didn't even think that anyone could possibly contain so much pain. His original image of the pureblood was so far off from reality that he didn't know what to think.

Mostly, he was feeling more and more lost in the guilt that had been tugging at him harder and harder as the time passed. He had expected the pureblood to survive and hate him... and now it didn't seem Kaname even had strenght left to hate him.

He wasn't sure anymore if he had the right to force him through that torture. He already felt so terribly guilty for taking her from him, but on top of that forcing him through a life of pain would be too much.

He was doing this so that Yuuki wouldn't suffer from Kaname's death... but in the end, even if he had means to prevent Kaname from trying to kill himself again as soon as he was healed, if he forced the pureblood through the torture of living in such agony, wouldn't Yuuki suffer from it anyway? Wasn't it better to let it go now rather than only keep making it worse?

He finally understood what Ichijou felt earlier, at grips with a situation he couldn't possibly fix.

A moment ago, Zero was afraid he'd lose control and finish the pureblood himself, in a bloodlust induced madness, but now that he was serene and in full control of his abilities, things weren't any easier. In fact, being able to think clearly and see the despair of the situation from Kaname's eyes only made it harder. Kaname's blood granted him not only strength, but also an unexpected glimpse into the pureblood's feelings.

Zero bent forward and put his face in his hands, unsure of what to say.

In a moment of utter hopelessness for it all, he got up, walked to the entrance of the room where Ichijou had set the gun down before leaving, picked it up, came back to the bed and put the tip of the barrel against Kaname's temple.

"If this is really what you want... If you are sure, then, Kaname..."

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(to be continued)

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**Nota: **Many people write vampire fiction with Anne Rice vampires in mind. I don't. (Although I also like her vampires. ;D)

Her vampires have a variety of things they are unable to do, that luckily VK vampires can do totally fine. So when you see something in my fics that clashes with your idea of vampires, it's either because it's canon in the VK universe or because I made it up, but in the latter case I generally leave those annoying little foot notes like this. XD

In Anne Rice's books, they can't drink blood that isn't fresh. In VK, Rido's creepy bloody vat dispenser thingie and his vial of very!old!blood have both shown us that they can do so without any problem. And since in this case it's not mere blood but pure vampire blood, it should be even more fine & effective, if maybe a bit gross when cold. XD

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Chapter 5 sometime this weekend perhaps.


	5. Chapter 5 : Fifty Move Rule

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**"Checkmate, - Chapter 5: Fifty Move Rule."**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight, this is a fanfic written for fun and for love of the series. I'm not making any money with it.

**Warnings: Angst & blood. Also, spoilers for chapters 30 to 35.**

This is a **partial AU**, because in this fic, some time has passed since episode 30's scene with Kaname & Zero, and there's no move on Rido's part yet. (Think of it as extending things a bit so that Rido attacks later, after the next vacation instead of this one? lol)

As a result, everybody is still at school including Takuma & co., and things are normal without Rido-in-Shiki's-body stuff as of yet.

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"Ichijou-senpai, please get out of the way."

Yuuki's shaking voice was the only thing to break the complete silence in the corridor.

"I'm sorry, Yuuki-chan. I really am. But I can't let you go inside."

Takuma's face was a painting of agony, conflicting emotions flickering on it one after the other.

He wanted to let her in, he really did, but on same time, he knew how much Kaname didn't want her to see him that way. And what little he knew of Yuuki, it was enough to know she would be haunted for her whole life if she saw Kaname die in front of her, especially in the state the pureblood currently was.

He had expected tears, protests, hysteria even, and he was perfectly ready to drag her out of the Moon Dorms if he had to.

He wasn't expecting the calm determination in her eyes when she let out her breath quietly, stepped forward and balled her little fists on each side of her body, standing firmly in front of him.

"Then, I will fight you, and go through. I _**have **_to get in. I don't even have my staff with me right now, but I'm not afraid. Senpai, you can't stop me, unless you kill me. So kill me if you have to. I'll fight you to my death to go through. Because I love Kaname-sama."

She couldn't believe the last part had escaped her lips. She had just meant to tell him that she was ready to die if she couldn't go to Kaname, but the emotions had taken over her and she let out something she didn't think she had the courage anymore to say out loud, even to herself. She sucked her breath in to steady herself, not wanting to let her resolve weaken in embarrassement, no matter what the reason was. Whatever fears and hesitations she might have had until today were now left behind, in the wake of something so much more important and urgent that she couldn't possibly allow herself to be weak anymore.

Ichijou stared at her with a look of awe tinged with absolute horror. What was it, in those frail ephemeral beings, that caused them to try to throw themselves at them like a moth to a fire! _Yuuki _wanted to fight him? To her death? _Little Yuuki, whom he used to watch run out of her house and throw herself into Kaname's arms for a hug?_

He had every intention to defend the entry, and to not let her pass at any cost, but this...? How could he possibly ever justify hurting or even worse, killing the only person Kaname had ever loved as far as he knew?!

A hand squeezed Yuuki's shoulder softly, and as she glanced quickly expecting someone trying to stop her, she found Aidou standing next to her.

"Ichijou... I will fight you too. Before you get to Yuuki, you'll have to kill me as well."

He was already forming a protective barrier of ice crystals around them, unwavering determination in his eyes. But unlike how impetuous and explosive he normally was, at the moment he was unexpectedly very calm.

Serene and certain of his decision, Aidou flexed his muscles, his body supple and prepared for fighting by years of training and a lineage of warriors having fought countless battles under the Kuran banner. He was ready for whatever was to come.

The crowd around them took in the look on his face and the rapidly growing ice, and started to back away fast, spilling onto the sides of the corridor leading to the rooms, down into the lower parts of the stairway and into the entry hall, expecting an imminent combat and not wanting to be anywhere too close to two high rank vampire aristocrats using elemental powers.

"Ichijou... I too love Kaname-sama. Not the same way Yuuki does, but I've always loved him. I feel I never managed to convey it in a way that didn't feel more like a weight to him than something welcome, but... even if he hates me forever, I will ensure that Yuuki goes into that room. Because if she doesn't, Kaname-sama and every single one of us will forever regret what could have been."

Yuuki's heart was speeding in her chest. She only ever saw his more childish side, and never knew Aidou could be so serious. She straightened herself and blushed with pride at standing by his side, even if it was to die together. She wasn't sure if Aidou could take on Ichijou, but she knew well that if they fought, she would be dead before the fight even started. It was not a bluff, but rather the only card she had to play, and she was really ready for it.

Aidou's words fueled her determination even more. Now that she had finally realized she was prepared to reach Kaname or die in the attempt, suddenly the obstacles that seemed overwhelming before now crumbled away like ashes to the wind.

_She had been fearing so much to tell Kaname that she loved him, in case he felt insulted and ressented her?_ She couldn't believe how much she had feared that. And now, he may be dying, and she was ready to face certain death just to have the chance to see him one last time. She felt stupid for her past fears and hesitations. How she regretted not having told him everything, thrown away the shyness and dread and just opened up her heart to the two of them. If they were to both hate her for it, then so be it, she still should have told them. Otherwise, she'd only ever be half of herself. Otherwise, she would never be able to forgive herself, even if the two did.

She clenched her fists tightly, holding up her arms in front of her chest in a gesture that was meant to be as much attack and defense, and stepped forward with resolve, much as she had no illusions of having any chance to actually land a blow on the vampire in a serious fight.

She just didn't want to wait for Aidou or Ichijou to open the hostilities first. She was the one who made her decision, and she would go through with it as she had promised. She wouldn't stay behind and let Aidou fight her battle.

But the moment she stepped forward, Ichijou backed away one swift step, his movement as sudden as if he had been bitten by a snake.

Even if he did have every intention to fight for Kaname's wishes, surely it didn't go that far? Kaname himself had given him an order, and then regreted it when it resulted in Kiryuu being hurt. This was a replay of the same scene, but with much darker consequences if he went through with it. Killing Kiryuu would be regrettable, but killing Yuuki would be killing Kaname.

Already, fighting Aidou would have been utterly painful. They weren't close, Aidou having never fully trusted him, but Ichijou really liked the young vampire, and had fond memories of him. Takuma was not the type to be able to fight people he liked. Although he had almost hoped Aidou would initiate the fight. Fighting him would always be better than fighting Yuuki, and if he was lucky, maybe Aidou would take his life instead of the opposite, although the difference in power he felt between them made it unlikely.

Aidou was watching him carefully, ready to intervene if Ichijou attacked Yuuki. The reason he hadn't moved yet was because in all those years Aidou had known Ichijou, he'd never seen his hands shaking like this.

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_Because if she doesn't, Kaname-sama and every single one of us will forever regret what could have been._

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Ichijou was torn between what his mind and his heart told him were his duty to his friend.

Ultimately, none of them could go against Kaname's will. But Yuuki wasn't one of them. She wasn't a vampire, she was not bound by their rules or what they believed. It would require him doing some bending of his own beliefs for her to go through, but in the end, she was the only one Kaname really cared about. Even if she did go against his wishes by entering the room, she was the only one who could truly make a difference, so much more than Kiryuu or himself could ever hope to achieve. Kiryuu was also an outsider, but he didn't have the power Yuuki had over Kaname.

This was something Ichijou would never allow himself to speak of aloud, but he had seen it over the years. Not a single time in his life had he seen Kaname deny Yuuki anything. Everything she wanted from him, whether she asked for it directly or not, Kaname had always conceded.

Perhaps it was foolish to imagine that she would waltz into the room, command Kaname to live and everything would be okay. But he felt foolish a lot today. Whatever happened in that room once she went in, even if it did go awfully wrong and ended in a gruesome bloodbath... it would still be much better than standing there and waiting for an eternity of regrets to begin.

Ichijou lowered his hands and turned his back to Yuuki.

Aidou focused his power, especting a surprise attack any time now, but the only thing that happened was a quiet click as the doorknob turned and Ichijou opened the door for Yuuki.

"Yuuki-chan... don't make him wait any longer will you?"

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_Zero walked to the entrance of the room where Ichijou had set the gun down before leaving, picked it up, came back to the bed and put the tip of the barrel against Kaname's temple._

_"If this is really what you want... If you are sure, then, Kaname..."_

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The pureblood's eyes were fixed on the hunters face, surprised by this unexpected turn of events. He didn't dare believe his sudden luck, but he didn't think the hunter would be making such a poor joke in such a moment.

The ghost of a weak smile of gratitude was on Kaname's lips.

"Please sho-"

**_"NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!!"_**

The familiar voice startled Zero but he stopped himself right on time, pulling the gun away with a look of horror on his face. If there ever was a worst timing for changes of mind, it was the one he had just had. Yuuki was standing in the bedroom's door frame, staring at them transfixed with absolute horror.

Kaname had raised his head off the bed and was staring back at her in disbelief, looking just as horrified as she did or even more.

As Yuuki ran towards the bed, Zero understood that trying to halt her would be impossible, so instead he used vampire speed to quickly pull off his blood-soaked jacket and toss it over Kaname's naked body, to save the pureblood at least some of the shame of being seen in such a state. It was barely enough to cover him from the top of his thighs to his chest, the rest of his body still covered in blood providing already quite a disturbing sight, but at least Yuuki's first sight of Kaname's nudity wouldn't be such a frightening memory.

As it was, Kaname was so shocked by her presence in such a scene of tragedy that he seemed to have lost his voice, although the glaze that had been covering his eyes was gone as well, as if the shock had sobered him up. His head raised off the surface of the bed, he stared at her, mouth agape, desperately wishing this were a nightmare and he could wake up.

Zero didn't know what to tell her. "Yuuki... I'm... I'm so sorry. I didn't think you'd make it on time... and I started thinking I had no right to force him or take this decision from him, and it's... it's... I don't know... I... I..." _Oh God... I almost shot him right in front of Yuuki!! I...!!_

But to Zero's surprise, the Yuuki in front of him now was completly different from the Yuuki who the previous night was crying over being too embarrassed to show herself in front of Kaname after what happened.

Whatever had happened gave this new Yuuki a decided look and determination that he'd only glimpsed in the old Yuuki for quick flashes of a second in extreme times. It was the look she had when she decided to give him her blood to save him. It was the look she had when they were children, and she would stop him from trying to claw out his troath. In those moments, her determination shone through her kindness, but right now, it had also a clear commanding tone in it, an authority born of something he didn't quite understand, but that was in a way very reassuring. He glanced at Kaname, and despite the look of horror still on the pureblood's face, he could tell that Kaname too felt the newborn strenght in Yuuki, and was taken aback by it, a strange thread of recognition stirring in him.

"Zero, give me the gun." she demanded firmly with her hand extended forward. Her lips were a tense thin line, but she forced herself to give him a small reassuring attempt of a smile.

Zero handed the Bloody Rose to her without hesitation; she quickly dropped out the gun's magazine and popped all the bullets out of it, scattering them onto the ground before tossing the magazine and the empty gun far from them. She didn't feel safe with that gun loaded in the room, not after having seen it so close to Kaname's head a second ago.

Zero was trying to explain again what exactly was going through his mind the moment she entered, and felt currently quite stupid for his rash decision. If he didn't know the pureblood wasn't in the condition to use his mind control on anyone there, he would have suspected him to have a hand in it. Even knowing, he couldn't help but feel that perhaps it was the powerful glimpse into Kaname's despair that he had from drinking his blood that tipped him over and almost caused him to do something he certainly wouldn't have done if Yuuki's presence was there to remind him that there could maybe still be hope.

Yuuki was now climbing onto the bed, approaching Kaname on her hands and knees, much to the pureblood's horror.

Kaname's original plan was for her to never find out that he had taken his own life. His being a vampire made that once his body finally shattered, there would be nothing left but an iridescent dust much akin to ground mother of pearl. Normal vampires shattered and crumbled down into what looked much like ashes, but purebloods faded away into something much more exquisite, albeit just as inconspicuous when it came to hiding the evidence of death from humans.

He had left written instructions for everything tht needed to be done after his death, and for the peaceful continuing of the Night Class according to his wishes.

A neat pile of letters and papers sat on top of the desk in his study, waiting to be found by Seiren or Ichijou the next morning.

His direct entourage was to camouflage everything so that Yuuki would think he moved away. Unless she had contacts with the vampire high society or someone betrayed the secret, she would normally never find out.

He presently had no access to his fortune, still seized by Ichiou under the guise of being his 'guardian', but the old vampire would be forced to report to the council and they would have to follow the will left by Kaname, which he finished the previous evening, and which was presently sitting in a thick enveloppe atop the pile of letters. He was leaving everything to Kaien Cross and the school, with the intention that it would one day be Yuuki's. It was unprecedented for a pureblood, but he was known to be one of the leading forces of the pacifist movement defending the idea of coexistence with the humans, and while many would be terribly shocked by the Kuran fortune and belongings going to humans, his will would be respected, and without drawing unnecessary additional attention over Yuuki herself, since it would seem like a gesture made towards the school. There was a long letter for Cross, and inside the same envelope, a much longer one for Yuuki, that the chairman was to give her should she ever find out what happened from someone else.

His whole plan was organized in a way that she wouldn't know, at least not for a long time if she ever found out. So that she wouldn't suffer. So that if or when she found out, enough time would have passed, and she would be hopefully used enough to living without his presence that the pain would be dulled.

He had always only thought of protecting her, and had always viewed her as needing that protection.

But now, however carefully constructed his plan may have been, too many unexpected elements had come into play.

Chances of dying discretly were gone by the time Zero had the others call Yuuki, and now that she was here, leaning over him peering with tear filled eyes into his reddened ones, it was no longer a matter of not having enough pieces left to play. Kaname's entire plan was falling apart, any chances of defusing the situation long gone.

Tears were filling his eyes again, before spilling over his cheecks where the older ones had already washed off trails onto the blood partially dry on his face, mirroring the tears now running down her face as well.

A swirl of emotions was showing on his features. Despair at having failed so utterly and having put Yuuki through this experience. Immense shame at the fact that she was witnessing him at his very lowest. If there had ever been a person he did not want to see him in such a way, it was Yuuki, and no one else.

On top of knowing he had tried to kill himself, which was already bound to leave some sort of traumatic memory in her whether he survived this night or not, she was also seeing him in a way he had made sure to never let her see, save for a single time, when he had drank from Luca in front of the semi-open door, knowing that Yuuki was waking up and would hear them. He had done so then to show her what a vampire in bloodlust looked like. Because she was too trusting of him, and it led her to trust that every other vampire in his company might be as caring. It was an extremely effective tactic, but it backfired into making Yuuki finally truly realize just how far apart their worlds were, and it put a colossal distance between them, that he could never breach again regardless of his repeated efforts since then. The intimacy and closeness they had throughout Yuuki's childhood was gone that night, and over the years, it made him almost afraid of approaching her too much, least she runs even farther away from him.

But now she saw it, his burning red eyes, his painfully extended fangs and the trembling in his body as she approached. She saw it all, as well as his boundless shame and despair. He was utterly exposed to her, with no hopes of any possible way to hide, and it tore a sob from his raw throat.

But the Yuuki leaning over him looked at him with the unwavering eyes of the old Yuuki he thought he had lost forever. She held his gaze without fear, even though his eyes were glowing red like blood, and his fangs were fully visible in between his panting breaths. It took him all his effort to steel his body and control himself, as the closeness was painfully tempting. But it also hurt in a delicious way, the horrible pain of having lost her to the hunter intermingling with the immense relief of being able to see her once again before dying.

The enormous shame he felt by being seen in such a state by her, however, was difficult to bear and had an added layer in the fact that he felt ashamed to realize how delighted he was to be able to see her, even in such dire conditions. He gazed at her face in rapture, trying to memorize every single detail so that he could burn them onto his soul for eternity once he would be gone, almost thinking it had to be an illusion of his fading mind that she would be so close to him and look at him the way she hadn't in so long...

"Kaname..._sama_."

He was sure he was dreaming now. In three years, she had only called him that a single time, and even then it had been by accident, an unwanted slip. He closed his eyes with a pained sigh.

But the soft weight over his lids was something he didn't expect. Yuuki kissed each of his eyes gently, before caressing his cheek. When he opened his eyes to look back up, she was smiling at him, leaning over him with one hand on the bed on the side of his head and the other hand stroking his hair softly. He didn't dare speak, drinking in her scent, her presence, the contact of her hand that he leaned into... she was so close that he was almost afraid of what he might do in that state.

"Zero, can you untie his hands?"

The hunter raised his head suddenly, surprised. He had been staring at the ground since she begun caressing Kaname's face, afraid to look but carefully focusing on his instincts to intervene if he sensed the slightest sign that Kaname might lose control. His hands were shaking lightly and he had something akin to a lost look on his face.

Yuuki's closeness to Kaname pierced into the hunter's deeply ingrained belief that her feelings for him were but a momentary mistake that wouldn't last. Zero had lived with the pain of knowing she loved Kaname for a long time now, but the resurgence of hope the previous day made it more painful to watch the situation unfolding in front of him now, much as he tried to tell himself he had always known it to be inevitable.

"Yuuki... if I do, he'll either tear at his wounds or...or..." he didn't have the heart to say Kaname might attack her. It was obvious enough in the way the pureblood's fangs were showing in between his ragged breaths.

"No, he won't. You won't, Kaname, will you?"

The pureblood was staring at her mesmerized. The lack of response didn't reassure Zero at all, but Kaname was strangely subdued.

His voice hoarse and his fangs catching on his lips as he spoke, he finally whispered "Never... I'll never hurt Yuuki..." But his eyes were glassy and Zero wasn't sure if Kaname was relly seeing them.

Yuuki glanced back at Zero with urgency, and the hunter realized that maybe Kaname was starting to tip over the edge and they had to hurry with whatever it is that they could do.

The pureblood had lost almost all his blood while his body was already severely weakened by the hunter poison, and it was only sheer willpower and his vampiric nature that kept him conscious still. They had no way to know how long he could go before his body exhausted itself too much and hit the point after which the shattering was inevitable and, pureblood strength or not, he would inevitably die.

Extending his nails into claws, Zero cut through the fabric of the tie, the knot having been pulled too tight by Kaname's earlier trashing to be easily untied fast.

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The instant the fabric gave way and frayed to rags, Kaname's wrists finally free, the pureblood lunged towards Yuuki so suddenly that they were caught off guard, unable to believe he still had that speed in him.

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(to be continued)

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With luck, the last chapter will be ready still this weekend? XD;;; Uhm. (Unlikely but not impossible. Otherwise, perhaps early next week.)

I meant to post this yesterday and 6 today, but I ended up drawing instead of editing. :X


	6. Chapter 6 : The End

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**"Checkmate, - Chapter 6: Queen takes King; King takes Knight."**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight, this is a fanfic written for fun and for love of the series. I'm not making any money with it.

**Warnings: Angst & blood. Also, spoilers for chapters 30 to 35. **Vague spoiler to chapter 40, on Zero's feelings about deserving love.

This is a **partial AU**, because in this fic, some time has passed since episode 30's scene with Kaname & Zero, and there's no move on Rido's part yet. (Think of it as extending things a bit so that Rido attacks later, after the next vacation instead of this one? lol)

As a result, everybody is still at school including Takuma & co., and things are normal without Rido-in-Shiki's-body stuff as of yet.

Pairings in this fic: Kaname x Yuuki x Zero. :D (Not mentioned in the original summary because it would have been a spoiler. )

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The instant the fabric gave way and frayed to rags, Kaname's wrists finally free, the pureblood lunged towards Yuuki so suddenly that they were caught off guard, unable to believe he still had that speed in him.

But before the hunter could quickly bring down his fist onto the pureblood to protect Yuuki, Zero realized Kaname wasn't trying to bite her, he was hugging her, burying his face in her chest to hide his sobs and the utter shame he felt.

"I...I'm sorry... Yuuki. I swear... I never wanted... you to see this... I... I just...can't keep going... It hurts too much..."

"Kaname... Kaname, I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you before..."

"Yu...u...ki... don't worry anymore... It will only...be hard at first... you have... him... he...he'll...take care of you..."

"No, listen to me, don't let go. Don't you let go!" The force of her command stopped him right in his tracks. Yuuki was pulling his head back from her chest and forcing him to look into her eyes as she straddled his legs to be closer.

"I love you, Kaname."

Zero staggered backwards swallowing a painful little noise halfway between a whimper and a choke, his back hitting the wall of the room and preventing him from backing away farther.

He'd been afraid something like this might happen. Yesterday already, he couldn't believe he had actually told Yuuki and that she felt the same way. When Kaname showed up during their kiss, the hunter started to feel his chances crumble.

He had confessed to her because he felt he didn't want to continue without telling Yuuki his feelings, but he also felt that if it ever came down to a decision between the two of them, Yuuki would naturally go to where she had always belonged, much as he had always hated to admit it. Instinctively, he had felt, he had known she'd go to Kaname.

In truth, it was partially why he came there, ready to do anything to save the pureblood. Because he thought sooner or later Yuuki would realize her mistake and go to her real love, or regret it forever if she could no longer do so. After all, how could she possibly ever love him? _How could anyone possibly ever love him? Love the thing he was? It was already amazing Yuuki would be so kind to him. He had overstepped his boundaries by far, and dared to reach for something he could never hope to deserve. _Deeply ingrained beliefs he had had since his childhood tore at him again, painfully reminding him of the inadequacies he believed he had.

He'd long hated the pureblood, but he had no illusions of deserving Yuuki. And now, he was convinced that time had come.

But to his surprise, Yuuki, while still leaning over Kaname and cradling his head to her chest with one hand, stretched her other hand towards Zero and beckoned him to approach, while she continued to speak to the pureblood.

"I... I did something horrible. You were right, Kaname, the time you said I was cruel. But I never meant to hurt either of you." She raised her eyes to meet Zero's and took his hand into her small one when he stood next to the bed. "I love you too, Zero."

The hunter's look of absolute confusion spread even farther over his features.

"I never chose to feel that way... I just couldn't help it. Maybe it means there's something really bad, really wrong in me. Maybe I'm a bad person..." _Maybe that's why my family left me in the mountain to die... _But she had to stay strong for the two of them right now, so she didn't allow herself to delve into the fears that she'd long harbored, and simply continued. "But I do swear I sincerely love the two of you, with all of my heart. I won't promise half of it to each of you. Each of you both own my whole heart." she had a loving smile in her face, filled with a mix of apprehension and courage.

"I really wronged you, Kaname. I never knew it was so bad... for the longest time, I tried to force myself not to think of you, because I thought it was impossible, and that we would never... never be together. But then, right when I should have told you, I couldn't bring myself to do it, thinking you would hate me for my feelings for Zero. If I knew you would do this... If I knew... I swear... I would have died so many times over so you wouldn't have to suffer like that..."

She was trying to make her point, but it was only getting more and more convoluted and she lost herself in her explanations, and the sheer emotion that was filling her so completely started to threaten to overflow, making her shake more and more.

The pureblood raised a bloodied arm and caressed her cheek softly, wiping away the tears, accidentally leaving smudges of blood from his fingers on her face. "Yuuki... what purpose would that serve? I want you to always be happy and smile... I don't ever want you to be hurt... I love you... more than anything or anyone in this world..." He couldn't continue speaking. It was as if all the tension and horror had peaked then deflated suddenly, and now he felt strangely calm, although terribly tired, and keeping his eyes open was becoming more and more difficult. So he just focused weakly on her scent, savoring in her presence and the warmth of her delicate body next to his shivering one.

He didn't have the strength to hold himself upright anymore, and his weight made that Yuuki had to lower him back to the bed, leaning on him to remain in contact as much as possible.

"Yuuki..." it was Zero now. He had been watching the pureblood closely and sensed that the end was going to come soon if they didn't do something soon. But before he needed to say anymore, Yuuki gave him an understanding look, indicating that she realized. She may not have any hunter abilities like he did, but somehow she knew.

"Kaname... I want you to drink from me."

**"NO!!" **

Yuuki startled for a second at the simultaneous cry from the two men --albeit sounding more like a torn sob in Kaname's case--, but it didn't hamper her determination.

"Whether you drink from me or not, I need you to live, Kaname. I can't do it without either of you. I was too afraid you'd both hate me for loving you both, but I can't change how I feel. If either of you dies, I can't go on. I need you... I need you both to live... even if you can't forgive me, I... I... "

Kaname was caressing her back weakly, his ragged bandages catching on her uniform and slowing his movements.

"Forgive you? You are everything that matters for me. You could tear my heart out and it would never change the way I feel about you... And... I know... Kiryuu here...feels... the same for you..." His voice slurred as he nearly lost conscience as he spoke.

"Then please! Please live, Kaname!! Please!!" she pulled him closer to herself and pressed his face onto the crook of her neck, stiffening slightly preparing for his fangs to pierce her. But no pain came.

Kaname refused to bite her, steeling himself even in bloodlust, even so close to death.

He would never forgive himself if he turned her in such a moment. Not only it was too emotional of a situation for her to be able to make a decision that she wouldn't be at risk of regretting later, but he didn't have anywhere near enough blood in him at the moment to stabilize her before he died. And he would most definitely NOT risk having Yuuki fall to level E if the bathtub blood was too diluted to perform the difficult task of completely awakening her as a pureblood.

"I... I want to... I want to do what you say, Yuuki... but... it's too late..."

In a flash of an instant, Zero knew what to do. Climbing onto the bed and gently pulling Yuuki back a little, easing the pureblood's head off Yuuki's hands as she sobbed, the hunter kneeled over him, bowing low enough that his neck was offered just within reach of Kaname's fangs.

"Kaname... t-take my blood." the trauma from Shizuka's bite had never left his mind. Over the years, it had become barely bearable enough that he could go on living without the constant compulsive need to tear off the flesh of the area where he could still feel her lips, but it was something that would probably never go away completely.

The mere idea of a vampire drinking from his neck was something that threatened to shatter his very sanity that had been patched together by Yuuki's gentle care for the past four years. It had almost broken to pieces completly the day Shizuka drank from him again, on the same spot, when she came to the school, but he had managed to live on, amazing even himself. He wasn't sure he'd be okay if he did this... but he absolutely had to. He felt it as acutely as if his whole life had led him there for that very purpose, so that he could at last repay Yuuki for a little of all he owed her. It would never be enough, but he would do anything he possibly could, no matter what it costed him.

He put a hand beneath the pureblood's head in case he needed support to raise his head, and urged him on "Ka...Kaname, you wanted to die because I took Yuuki from you... well, I didn't. I could never take her from you... I wouldn't insult you two saying we should all be together or...something... I don't care what happens to me after today, but you must take care of Yuuki... You can have Yuuki, Kaname, but you must live!"

Each time that Yuuki thought she had no more tears to shed, she found she was wrong. "Ze...Zero...? What are you saying?!"

The pureblood reached up weakly and wrapped his arms around the hunter's shoulders to get a better hold, his ragged breath feverishly hot against the other's throat, making Zero shiver in apprehension, goosebumps covering his skin at the proximity.

Kaname's voice was a low growl. "I refuse."

Zero faltered, swallowing hard and falling short of arguments to try to convince the pureblood. But he had misunderstood Kaname's refusal, and the following words came as an absolute surprise.

"Yuuki said she loves the both of us...whatever may be our differences, we will conform to her choice. Only under those conditions can I accept your offer, Kiryuu."

"Ka...Kaname??" but Zero couldn't finish his question, a whimper of pain and panic being the only sound he could muster when the pureblood's fangs sank into his neck.

Blood filled Kaname's mouth, pouring out abundantly, overloading his senses like an oasis to a man lost in a desert. He groaned with delight, instinctively sucking harder despite his weakened condition, a trail of fresh blood trickling down his chin and onto his neck to mix with his own dried one.

The hunter was shivering hard in his arms, little jolts of panic barely under control under his skin, his whole body revulsed by the terrifying contact of the fangs buried deep into his flesh, a feeling so dreadfully familiar and unwelcome that a thousand years wouldn't be able to make him forget it. Zero's eyes blurred with how fast they filled with tears.

But Kaname's touch, even so thirsty and weakened, was not comparable with Shizuka's vengeance driven one. He noticed the fear in the hunter and softened his grip. Licking the wounded area gently, Kaname removed his fangs and merely left his lips around the spot, sucking with a more careful motion to cause the least pain possible. He circled the puncture wounds with his tongue, running the tip of it directly over the wounds over and over, ensuring that his pureblood saliva would numb the area and cause Zero's blood vessels to expand to enhance the rate of blood flowing from the wound without having to use his fangs again or suck too hard.

The hunter was still shivering, but now a flush was spreading through his body like fire. He was extremely ashamed to admit to himself that what the pureblood was doing felt really really good. He clenched his jaw hard, losing his mind in the maddening dance of Kaname's tongue, doing all he could to stay silent by fear that he may moan out loud otherwise. He didn't want it to feel good. In his mind, it was supposed to be painful, necessary but unwanted. The pleasure threatened to destroy the carefully set up barriers he'd long built to lock inside himself all the fear and pain he felt. Barriers that had allowed his mind to continue functioning despite the trauma, but that had also caused him to be unable to heal from his fear and move on.

And yet, the gentleness was both breaking his hearth and really soothing in a most unexpected way. Kaname was moving his fingers slowly in a soft caress on the back of Zero's neck, and it was as if he spoke to him through the blood or through whatever strange link they were sharing at the moment.

_You won't be left alone._

The pure vampire blood that Zero had ingested earlier had been absorbed by his body and was flowing strong and pure through his veins, free of the water and impurities. Soon, the power contained in it was transferring itself back to Kaname, his body welcoming with greedy delight the sudden boost to his weakened immune system. The hunter poison he had ingested earlier that evening couldn't possibly by itself have a deadly effect on his pureblood body, but it had been enough to shut down much of his regenerative abilities, which is why the wounds in his arms had stopped healing, and which is what had allowed him to nearly bleed himself dry, reaching the point where even his pureblood body wouldn't function anymore, almost killing him in the process.

But now, with the purified new blood flowing into his veins, his body was brimming with renewed power.

He was still very weakened, but he was definitely out of danger; still terribly hungry, but he would most definitely be okay. With a last caress to Zero's hair, he released the hunter's neck and let his own head fall back against the bed, his fangs already retreating visibly while he caught his breath.

Yuuki was crying, but it was of joy this time. She knew he would be okay. The dread that had been knotting her insides all this time was melting away leaving no traces. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she was feeling the panic slipping out of her tense body, replaced by a a strange certainty that everything would be okay.

Zero was absentmindedly fingering the bite wounds on his neck, his eyes lost on the bed sheets and a flush on his face, torn between his instinctive response that made him want to claw at the wound, and the most unfamiliar feeling he had now, that this wound somehow wasn't tainted or disgusting like the one left by Shizuka.

"I- I should... I should let you two..." he made a movement to get up, but Kaname's unexpected grip on his arm stopped him before he tried to leave.

"You wouldn't be thinking of breaking the conditions of our agreement, would you, Kiryuu?" The pureblood had an almost challenging weak little smile on his lips as he tugged lightly on the other's arm.

Yuuki smiled at him too, a look of embarrassed but absolute hope on her face, and she couldn't resist curling up next to Kaname, not willing to leave his side just yet. "Zero, don't go..."

As Kaname laid tiredly where he was on his back, willing his body to regain his forces, Yuuki snuggled up to him on his left, and he gestured for Zero to lay down with them as well.

"I wouldn't have considered before that sharing could ever be an acceptable possibility, but... compared to not having Yuuki, anything would be better. And she chose the both of us, so I am sure we can reach an agreement of sorts, can't we, Kiryuu?"

Zero stared at Kaname for a moment precessing his words. _Sharing? As in... Really sharing?? Sharing Yuuki among the two of them?! _

The hunter blushed a bright tone of red that tore a tired chuckle from the pureblood. Zero glared at him with an urge to retaliate, but didn't trust himself at the moment to make any remark that didn't make him look worse.

Yuuki was currently busy hiding her equally blushy face against Kaname's side, but she was visibly relaxing at the reaction of the two.

_So long... so long suffering about what could happen if I told them... and in the end, we almost lost everything because I didn't speak sooner._ She would never be afraid to tell her feelings to her two beloved ones from now on, no matter how unbearably embarrassed she may feel about things.

Still tired and weakened from the blood draw himself, Zero decided that he could worry about getting back at the pureblood later, and for now he merely laid down next to him on the side of the bed that wasn't taken by Yuuki. In a way he felt like someone who had lived far too long with a weight over his shoulders, and who had said weight finally start to lift away a little.

Maybe the hope they saw shining in Yuuki's eyes was right. Maybe it would be all fine for them after all.

Kaname slid an arm around each of them and closed his eyes, slipping into a much needed regenerative sleep.

_Yes. Maybe it it would all be fine after all._

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-- The End --

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Sagakure, June 22th 2008

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Happy end, whee! XD lol

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It originally started as a deathfic. XD;;; I just love Kaname too much to leave it at that. XD

About the line "You were right, Kaname, the time you said I was cruel.", it might not work as well due to my stretching of the timeline, as it is dubious the stuff that happens in the fic would have happened the same way if it was after the scene where Kaname confesses to her in the manga, but perhaps she could be refering to a vague memory she had of hearing his words while she was sleeping, back when she was a kid and almost caused him to drink her blood by accident. XD I just really liked the line and din't want to edit it out. :)

This whole fic started as an alternate scene from another fic idea I have. The other is much longer, so I didn't start on it yet. (Not sure when or if I will, but I'd like to write it sometime. :D) It's also a lot less dramatic, or, err, at least it's supposed to be. lol ...A bit more porny too. XD

There was a dramatic part in it, and the scene of Kaname in the bathtub was one of the possible ideas for the outcome... except I changed my mind and decided not to use it, so I thought it was a bit of a waste since I liked the scene, and Checkmate was written as an one-shot... Of course, my love for Kaname being what it is, I couldn't leave it at that (the one shot was going to be a deathfic XD;), and the other 5 chapters were written... Quickly, what was meant to be a very short fic became way longer than I expected. XD;;

But I'm happy with how it turned out, and I'm also so very very happy with the reception it got, and with the fact so many lovely people enjoyed it and had fun fangirling Kaname and the others through this whole messy situation. X3

Thank you so much, to all the awesome people who've read and enjoyed the fic, and who left all those great comments, whether here or in the other places where I posted it! :DDD

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